Double the Pleasure: Boulevard Brewery's Double Wide I.P.A.

I realize this makes two I.P.A. recommendations in a row, but as I walked down the aisle of our local speciality store, the Boulevard Double Wide I.P.A. jumped out at me.  Boulevard Brewery started in 1989 in Kansas City, Missouri and has grown quickly in the last twenty years.  

Having lived in Kansas City for a few years in the past, I was very familiar with this brewery, which has a reputation for creating all-around, good beers.  It's one of those breweries where, when you see the Boulevard name on the label, you know you're getting a good beer.

The Double Wide I.P.A. stood out to me for two reasons.  First, it is rare to see Boulevard as far away from Kansas City as the Pacific Northwest, which goes to show you that its beers are slowly catching on around the country.  Second, this beer is part of a new series of specialty brews called the Smokestack Series. 

At the Boulevard website, this is what the brewery has to say about the Smokestack Series:

"We've made beers like these for years, but just for ourselves and brewery visitors.  Now, we're able to share these limited edition brews with a wider audience.

A labor of love, these bold, complex ales include both traditional styles and daring experiments, allowing our brewers to explore some of the more esoteric realms of their craft.  They have been carefully nurtured and refined through countless test brews over many years.""

As I write this, I am sipping the first few tastes of the Double Wide I.P.A. and it is a fantastic beer.  This beer is 8.5% ABV, but you would never know.  It does not have the overbearing taste that you sometimes get with the stronger I.P.A.s.  This is a well-balanced beer with a nice caramel malt that balances out the hops.  The first taste is both smokey and citrusy.  It has a slightly bitter, dry aftertaste, where the flavor really bursts.  This is a great beer for I.P.A. lovers.  

Here is what Boulevard Brewery says about the Double Wide I.P.A.:

"We use Zeus and Magnum hops for both bittering and aroma, and Ahtanum hops solely for aroma.  Two additional dry hopping regimens employ Ahtanum, Centennial, and Chinook varietals.  The resulting beer--not surprisingly--has a hop forward aroma, redolent of peach and apricot.  The assertive flavor bursts forth with citrus notes of blood orange and lemon, and a caramel malt backbone serves to balance the intensity of the hops.  Warning:  this F4 hop storm shows no restraint--it is not for the faint of heart!"